BHAKTI YOGA

By

Sri Swami Sivananda

What is Bhakti ?
Types of Bhakti
How to Cultivate Bhakti
Bhavas in Bhakti
Nava-Vidha-Bhakti
Fruits of Bhakti

WHAT IS BHAKTI ?

The term Bhakti comes from the root 'Bhaj', which means 'to be attached to God'.
Bhajan, worship, Bhakti, Anurag, Prem, Priti are synonymous terms. Bhakti is love
for love's sake. The devotee wants God and God alone. There is no selfish expectation
here. There is no fear also. Therefore it is called 'Parama Prem Rupa'. The devotee
feels, believes, conceives and imagines that his Ishtam (tutelary deity) is an Ocean of
Love or Prem.

Bhakti is the slender thread of Prem or love that binds the heart of a devotee with the
lotus feet of the Lord. Bhakti is intense devotion and supreme attachment to God.
Bhakti is supreme love for God. It is the spontaneous out-pouring of Prem towards the
Beloved. It is pure, unselfish, divine love or Suddha Prem. There is not a bit of
bargaining or expectation of anything here. This higher feeling is indescribable in
words. It has to be sincerely experienced by the devotee. Bhakti is a sacred, higher
emotion with sublime sentiments that unites the devotees with the Lord.

Mark how love develops. First arises faith. Then follows attraction and after that
adoration. Adoration leads to suppression of mundane desires. The result is single-
mindedness and satisfaction. Then grow attachment and supreme love towards God.

In this type of highest Bhakti all attraction and attachment which one has for objects
of enjoyment are transferred to the only dearest object, viz., God. This leads the
devotee to an eternal union with his Beloved and culminates in oneness.

TYPES OF BHAKTI

Bhakti is of various kinds. One classification is Sakamya and Nishkamya Bhakti.

Sakamya Bhakti is devotion with desire for material gains. A man wants wealth with
this motive practices Bhakti. Another man wants freedom from diseases and therefore
does Japa and offers prayers. A third one wants to become a Minister and does
Upasana with this aim. This is Sakamya Bhakti. Whatever you want the Lord will
certainly give you, if your Bhakti is intense and if your prayers are sincerely offered
from the bottom of your heart. But you will not get supreme satisfaction, immortality
and Moksha through Sakamya Bhakti.

Your Bhakti should always be Nishkamya Bhakti. God has already given you a good
position, a good job, wife and children and enough wealth. Be contented with these.
Aspire for Nishkamya Bhakti. Your heart will be purified and the Divine Grace will
descend upon you. Be in communion with the Lord, you will become one with the
Lord and you will enjoy all the Divine Aisvaryas (Divine attributes like wisdom,
renunciation, power, etc.). All the Vibhutis (Special forms in which the Lord
manifests) of the Lord He will give you. He will give you Darsan. He will help you to
dwell in Him. At the same time He will give you all the Divine Aisvaryas also.

Another classification of Bhakti is Apara-Bhakti and Para-Bhakti. Apara-Bhakti is for

beginners in Yoga. The beginner decorates an image with flowers and garlands, rings
the bell, offers Naivedya (food-offerings), wave lights; he observes rituals and
ceremonies. The Bhakta here regards the Lord as a Supreme Person, who is immanent
in that image and who can be propitiated through that form only.

He has no expanded heart. He is a sectarian. He dislikes other kinds of Bhaktas who

worship other Devatas. Gradually, from Apara-Bhakti, the devotee goes to Para-
Bhakti, the highest form of Bhakti. He sees the Lord and Lord alone everywhere and
feels His Power manifest as the entire universe. "Thou art all-pervading; on what
Simhasana shall I seat Thee ? Thou art the Supreme Light, in whose borrowed light
the sun, the moon, the stars and the fire shine; shall I wave this little Deepa or light
before You ?" - thus the devotee recognizes the transcendental nature of God. Para-
Bhakti and Jnana are one. But every Bhakta will have to start from Apara-Bhakti.
Before you take your food, offer it to God mentally; and the food will be purified.
When you pass through a garden of flowers, mentally offer all the flowers to the Lord
in Archana (offering flowers in worship). When you pass through the bazaar and see a
sweetmeat shop, offer all the sweetmeats as Naivedya to the Lord. Such practices will
lead to Para-Bhakti.

Bhakti is also classified into Gauna-Bhakti and Mukhya-Bhakti. Gauna-Bhakti is the

lower Bhakti and Mukhya-Bhakti is the higher type of Bhakti.

Go from stage to stage. Just as a flower grows in the garden, so also gradually develop
love or Prem in the garden of your heart.

The enemy of devotion is egoism and desire. Where there is no Kama or desire, there
alone will Rama (the Lord) manifest Himself. The enemies of peace and devotion are
lust, anger and greed. Anger destroys your peace and your health also. When a man
abuses you, keep peaceful. When blood begins to boil, it is impoverished. You lose
vitality if you become a prey to fits of temper.

HOW TO CULTIVATE BHAKTI

It would be a gross mistake if you consider Bhakti as merely a stage of emotionalism,
while it is actually a thorough discipline and training of one's will and the mind, a sure
means to intuitive realization of God Almighty through intense love and affection for
Him. It is a means to thorough apprehension of the true knowledge of Reality,
beginning from the ordinary form of idol worship right upto the highest form of
cosmic realisation of your oneness with Him. You can achieve this by following the
eleven fundamental factors which Sri Ramanuja had prescribed. They are Abhyasa or
practice of continuous thinking of God; Viveka or discrimination; Vimoka or freedom
from everything else and longing for God; Satyam or truthfulness; Arjavam or
straightforwardness; Kriya or doing good to others; Kalyana or wishing well-being to
all; Daya or compassion; Ahimsa or non-injury; Dana or charity; and Anavasada or
cheerfulness and optimism.

People put a question: "How can we love God whom we have not seen ?"

Live in the company of saints. Hear the Lilas of God. Study the sacred scriptures.
Worship Him first in His several forms as manifested in the world. Worship any image
or picture of the Lord or the Guru. Recite His Name. Sing His glories. Stay for one
year in Ayodhya or Brindavan, Chirakut or Pandhapur, Benares or Ananda Kutir. You
will develop love for God.

Every act must be done that awakens the emotion of Bhakti. Keep the Puja(worship)
room clean. Decorate the room. Burn incense. Light a lamp. Keep a clean seat. Bathe.
Wear clean clothes. Apply Vibhuti (sacred ash) or Bhasma, and Kumkum on the
forehead. Wear Rudraksha or Tulasi Mala. All these produce a benign influence on the
mind and elevate the mind. They generate piety. They help to create the necessary
Bhava or feeling to invoke the Deity that you want to worship. The mind will be
easily concentrated.

Practice of right conduct, Satsanga, Japa, Smarana, Kirtan, prayer, worship, service of
saints, residence in places of pilgrimage, service of the poor and the sick with divine
Bhava, observance of Varnashrama duties, offering of all actions and their fruits to the
Lord, feeling the presence of the Lord in all beings, prostrations before the image and
saints, renunciation of earthly enjoyments and wealth, charity, austerities and vows,
practice of Ahimsa, Satyam and Brahmacharya - all these will help you to develop
Bhakti.

BHAVAS IN BHAKTI

When the devotee grows in devotion there is absolute self-forgetfulness. This is

called Bhava. Bhava establishes a true relationship between the devotee and the Lord.
Bhava then grows into Maha-Bhava wherein the devotee lives, moves and has his
being in the Lord. This is Parama-Prema, the consummation of love or Supreme
Love.
There are five kinds of Bhava in Bhakti. They are Shanta, Dasya, Sakhya,
Vatsalya and Madhurya Bhavas. These Bhavas or feelings are natural to human beings
and so these are easy to practice. Practice whichever Bhava suits your temperament.

In Shanta Bhava, the devotee is Shanta or peaceful. He does not jump and dance. He
is not highly emotional. His heart is filled with love and joy. Bhishma was a Shanta
Bhakta.

Sri Hanuman was a Dasya Bhakta. He had Dasya Bhava, servant attitude. He served
Lord Rama whole-heartedly. He pleased his Master in all possible ways. He found joy
and bliss in the service of his Master.

In Sakhya Bhava, God is a friend of the devotee. Arjuna had this Bhava towards Lord
Krishna. The devotee moves with the Lord on equal terms. Arjuna and Krishna used
to sit, eat, talk and walk together as intimate friends.

In Vatsalya Bhava, the devotee looks upon God as his child. Yasoda had this Bhava
with Lord Krishna. There is no fear in this Bhava, because God is your pet child. The
devotee serves, feeds, and looks upon God as a mother does in the case of her child.

The last is Madhurya Bhava or Kanta Bhava. This is the highest form of Bhakti. The
devotee regards the Lord as his Lover. This was the relation between Radha and
Krishna. This is Atma-Samarpana. The lover and the beloved become one. The
devotee and God feel one with each other and still maintain a separateness in order to
enjoy the bliss of the play of love between them. This is oneness in separation and
separation in oneness. Lord Gauranga, Jayadeva, Mira and Andal had this Bhava.

A Caution: Madhurya Bhava is absolutely different from conjugality of earthly

experience. One should not be mistaken for the other. Earthly conjugality is purely
selfish and is undertaken only because it gives pleasure to one's own self. But in love
for God it is because it gives pleasure to God and not for the sake of the devotee.
Divine love is not selfish. It is born of sattva. But earthly lust is born of rajas and
attachment to bodies. Earthly conjugality is the outcome of egoisitc self-regarding
egoistic feeling, while divine communion is the outcome of other-regarding feeling
devoid of egoism. Strong selfishness is the root of worldly passion; divine love is the
product of loss of egoism. This is the greatest difference between lust (kama) and
divine love (prema). The two are related as darkness is related to light. No
development of earthly affection, however perfect it may be, can lead one to supreme
joy of divine communion. Lust lurks in the heart due to the passion that burns in the
core of things. Divine love is unknown to the man of the world, however religious he
may be. The secret of divine love cannot be understood, and should not be tried to be
understood, so long as man is only a man and woman only a woman. The austere
transformation of the human into the divine is the beginning of true love for God.

NAVA-VIDHA-BHAKTI
Devotion to God is developed in nine different ways. It is supreme attacment to God
through a Bhava predominant in the devotee. Intense love is the common factor in all
the nine modes. Exclusive love for God is expressed through various methods. All
Bhaktas of this type are above the formalities of the world. They are untouched by the
laws of human Dharma and are out and out concerned with God.

Good conduct which is in accordance with perfect moral law is an auxiliary to pure
Bhakti and it follows the true Bhakta wherever he goes. One cannot develop true
devotion to God if he is crooked in his heart, if he has got objects of love in this
world, if he is tempted by charming worldly things, if he wishes to take care of his
wife, children and relatives, if he wishes to feed his body well, if he wishes to earn a
great name in the world, if he wants to establish a permanent fame on earth, if he does
not like to part with the alluring contents of the world. Perfect detachment from all
objects is a preliminary to real devotion. Vairagya is the product of real love for God.
One who has love for the world cannot have love for God. Where there is Kama, there
cannot be Rama and where there is Rama there cannot be Kama. Love for the world
and love for God are diametrically opposite things. One has to be renounced for the
attainment of the other. This renunciation can be acquired through the nine forms of
Bhakti.

In the Srimad-Bhagavata and the Vishnu Purana it is told that the nine forms of Bhakti
are

1. Sravana (hearing of God's Lilas and stories),

2. Kirtana (singing of His glories),

3. Smarana (remembrance of His name and presence),

4. Padasevana (service of His feet),

5. Archana (worship of God),

6. Vandana (prostration to Lord),

7. Dasya (cultivating the Bhava of a servant with God),

8. Sakhya (cultivation of the friend-Bhava) and

9. Atmanivedana (complete surrender of the self).

A devotee can practice any method of Bhakti which suits him best. Through that he
will attain Divine illumination.

Sravana is hearing of Lord's Lilas. Sravana includes hearing of God's virtues, glories,
sports and stories connected with His divine Name and Form. The devotee gets
absorbed in the hearing of Divine stories and his mind merges in the thought of
divinity; it cannot think of undivine things. The mind loses, as it were, its charm for
the world. The devotee remembers God only even in dream.

The devotee should sit before a learned teacher who is a great saint and hear Divine
stories. He should hear them with a sincere heart devoid of the sense of criticism or
fault-finding. The devotee should try his best to live in the ideals preached in the
scriptures.

One cannot attain Sravana-Bhakti without the company of saints or wise men. Mere
reading for oneself is not of much use. Doubts will crop up. They cannot be solved by
oneself easily. An experienced man is necessary to instruct the devotee in the right
path.

King Parikshit attained Liberation through Sravana. He heard the glories of God from
Suka Maharishi. His heart was purified. He attained the Abode of Lord Vishnu in
Vaikuntha. He became liberated and enjoyed the Supreme Bliss.

Kirtana is singing of Lord's glories. The devotee is thrilled with Divine Emotion. He
loses himself in the love of God. He gets horripilation in the body due to extreme love
for God. He weeps in the middle when thinking of the glory of God. His voice
becomes choked, and he flies into a state of Divine Bhava. The devotee is ever
engaged in Japa of the Lord's Name and in describing His glories to one and all.
Wherever he goes he begins to sing and praise God. He requests all to join his
Kirtana. He sings and dances in ecstasy. He makes others also dance.

Smarana is remembrance of the Lord at all times. This is unbroken memory of the
Name and Form of the Lord. The mind does not think of any object of the world, but
is ever engrossed in thinking of the glorious Lord alone. The mind meditates on what
is heard about the glories of God and His virtues, Names, etc., and forgets even the
body and contents itself in the remembrance of God, just as Dhruva or Prahlada did.
Even Japa is only remembrance of God and comes under this category of Bhakti.
Remembrance also includes hearing of stories pertaining to God at all times, talking
of God, teaching to others what pertains to God, meditation on the attributes of God,
etc. Remembrance has no particular time. God is to be remembered at all times
without break, so long as one has got his consciousness intact.

Padasevana is serving the Lord's Feet. Actually this can be done only by Lakshmi or
Parvati. No mortal being has got the fortune to practice this method of Bhakti, for the
Lord is not visible to the physical eyes. But it is possible to serve the image of God in
idols and better still, taking the whole humanity as God. This is Padasevana.
Padasevana is service of the sick. Padasevana is service of the whole humanity at
large. The whole universe is only Virat-Swarupa. Service of the world is service of the
Lord.

Archana is worship of the Lord. Worship can be done either through an image or a
picture or even a mental form. The image should be one appealing to the mind of the
worshipper.
Worship can be done either with external materials or merely through an internal
Bhava or strong feeling. The latter one is an advanced form of worship which only
men of purified intellect can do. The purpose of worship is to please the Lord, to
purify the heart through surrender of the ego and love of God.

Vandana is prayer and prostration. Humble prostration touching the earth with the
eight limbs of the body (Sashtanga-Namaskara), with faith and reverence, before a
form of God, or prostration to all beings knowing them to be the forms of the One
God, and getting absorbed in the Divine Love of the Lord is termed prostration to God
or Vandana.

The ego or Ahamkara is effaced out completely through devout prayer and prostration
to God. Divine grace descends upon the devotee and man becomes God.

Dasya Bhakti is the love of God through servant-sentiment. To serve God and carry
out His wishes, realizing His virtues, nature, mystery and glory, considering oneself as
a slave of God, the Supreme Master, is Dasya Bhakti.

Serving and worshipping the Murtis in temples, sweeping the temple premises,
meditating on God and mentally serving Him like a slave, serving the saints and the
sages, serving the devotees of God, serving poor and sick people who are forms of
God, is also included in Dasya-Bhakti.

To follow the words of the scriptures, to act according to the injunctions of the Vedas,
considering them to be direct words of God, is Dasya Bhakti. Association with and
service of love-intoxicated devotees and service of those who have knowledge of God
is Dasya Bhakti. The purpose behind Dasya Bhakti is to be ever with God in order to
offer service to Him and win His Divine Grace and attain thereby immortality.

Sakhya-Bhava is the cultivation of the friend-sentiment with God. The inmates of the
family of Nandagopa cultivated this Bhakti. Arjuna cultivated this kind of Bhakti
towards Lord Krishna.

To be always with the Lord, to treat Him as one's own dear relative or a friend
belonging to one's own family, to be in His company at all times, to love Him as one's
own self, is Sakhya-Bhava of Bhakti-Marga. How do friends, real friends, love in this
world ? What an amount of love they possess between one another ? Such a love is
developed towards God instead of towards man; physical love turned into spiritual
love. There is a transformation of the mundane into the Eternal.

Atma-Nivedana is self-surrender. The devotee offers everything to God, including his

body, mind and soul. He keeps nothing for himself. He loses even his own self. He
has no personal and independent existence. He has given up his self for God. He has
become part and parcel of God. God takes care of him and God treats him as Himself.
Grief and sorrow, pleasure and pain, the devotee treats as gifts sent by God and does
not attach himself to them. He considers himself as a puppet of God and an instrument
in the hands of God.
This self-surrender is Absolute Love for God exclusively. There is nothing but God-
consciousness in the devotee. Even against his own wishes, the devotee shall become
one with God and lose his individuality. This is the law of being. The highest truth is
Absoluteness and the soul rises above through different states of consciousness until it
attains Absolute Perfection when it becomes identical with God. This is the
culmination of all aspiration and love.

The nine modes of Bhakti are the ways in which a devotee attains the Supreme Ideal
of life. A devotee can take up any of these paths and reach the highest state. The path
of Bhakti is the easiest of all and is not very much against the nature of human
inclinations. It slowly and gradually takes the individual to the Supreme without
frustrating his human instincts. It is not direct assertion of God, but a progressive
realization of Him.

FRUITS OF BHAKTI

Bhakti softens the heart and removes jealousy, hatred, lust, anger, egoism, pride and
arrogance. It infuses joy, divine ecstasy, bliss, peace and knowledge. All cares, worries
and anxieties, fears, mental torments and tribulations entirely vanish. The devotee is
freed from the Samsaric wheel of births and deaths. He attains the immortal abode of
everlasting peace, bliss and knowledge.

The fruits of Bhakti is Jnana. Jnana intensifies Bhakti. Even Jnanis like Sankara,
Madhusudana and Suka Dev took to Bhakti after Realization to enjoy the sweetness of
loving relationship with God.

Knowledge or wisdom will dawn by itself when you practice Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti is
the pleasant, smooth, direct road to God. Bhakti is sweet in the beginning, sweet in the
middle and sweet in the end. It gives the highest, undecaying bliss.

Kindle love divine in thy heart, for this is the immediate way to the Kingdom of God.

Pray to the Lord. Sing His glory. Recite His Name. Become a channel of His grace.

Seek His will. Do His will. Surrender to His will. You will become one with the
cosmic will.

Surrender unto the Lord. He will become your charioteer on the field of life. He will
drive your chariot well. You will reach the destination, the Abode of Immortal Bliss.